Obama 2012? Republicans would rather see “2016: Obama’s America”

“There will be some that will absolutely love it and some that will hate it,” Molen, producer of movies including Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park and Rain Man, said in an interview.

And that’s by design. This probing look at the incumbent president’s roots — based on the book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” by conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza — is the latest agit prop movie attempting to influence public opinion. It follows in the footsteps of Michael Moore’s “Roger and Me” and the negative Hillary Clinton documentary that led to the landmark Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case.

Because of the high court’s 2010 ruling, “some folks with deep pockets will likely have the means to get a particular message out without relying on more traditional media,” said Timothy Hagle, a political scientist at the University of Iowa. “The broader hope for them is that they will generate media attention to get the issues, clips, or quotes out to a wider audience.”

For Molen — a 77-year-old self-described independent conservative who is “concerned where we’re heading in this country” — that hope began on July 12 in Houston, the biggest city in the nation’s most Republican big state.

Since its world premiere at Houston’s Edwards Cinema, the movie has become a cult hit among conservatives, filling up theaters in selected markets across the country. It is the second-leading documentary of the year after “Bully.”

Texas: You saw it here first!

Asked why he chose Houston for the world premiere, Molen responded, “Why not Houston? It’s the center of America. It’s Americana through and through.”

The movie, shot on four continents, posits that Obama’s little-known early years will have a deep influence on where he takes the U.S. if he’s re-elected in November. It features an appearance by the president’s Kenyan half-brother.

Molen, who lives in Big Fork, Mont., said he doesn’t see his film as negative.

“We never got into this to slam anybody,” he said. “We got into this to make people wake up. My dream is they’ll walk out of the theater and say, ‘I didn’t know that.’”

Public opinion analysts say that while the film may capture headlines and get its share of praise and denunciation on Fox News and MSNBC, it’s not likely to change many votes.

“Movies like this mainly keep the troops rallied,” said independent pollster John Zogby. “It is doubtful that they’d have a direct impact on the undecided voters. The undecideds don’t go to movies like this.”

You could say that the film “2016: Obama’s America” is the GOP equivalent of Michael Moore‘s “Roger and Me.” The documentary is based on conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza‘s 2010 book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage.” As the film’s narrator, D’Souza argues that President Obama’s philosophy is “anticolonialist,” a legacy passed on from his Kenyan father who left Obama’s family when he was 2 years old.